Affordable Housing Fund awards more than $1.7 million in 2026 grants

Seven organizations have been awarded more than $1.7 million in funding through the latest round of grants from the Annual Catholic Appeal’s Affordable Housing Fund.

In 2026, the Annual Catholic Appeal’s Affordable Housing Fund will award a total of $1,733,867 to seven agencies dedicated to increasing the inventory of housing options for vulnerable individuals and families, the archdiocese announced April 15. The total includes $1 million from the 2025 Annual Catholic Appeal, as well as money raised by corporate and other donors. Ascension health care company donated $500,000, and McKelvey Homes agreed to donate $1,898 for every home sold in the fourth quarter of 2025 and first quarter of 2026. McKelvey’s fourth-quarter gift was $55,042.

This is the third round of grants distributed from the Affordable Housing Fund since Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski established it in 2024. More than $3.9 million has been awarded through the fund to date.

“Just as the circumstances that lead to housing instability differ, so must there be varying approaches to connecting people to affordable housing. We are trying to do our part by supporting local Catholic-affiliated housing organizations that help their clients obtain safe and welcoming places to call home. At the same time, they are helping address other challenges that can lead individuals and families to housing instability,” Archbishop Rozanski said. “It’s simply what we are called to do, through word and actions, to be witnesses to the love of Christ.”

Criminal Justice Ministry, a first-time recipient of an Affordable Housing Fund grant, was awarded $500,000 to purchase additional apartment units for its Foundations First Housing program.

The Foundations First Housing reentry program places clients in furnished apartments and supports them with case management, counseling and more as they work toward independence as active, contributing members of their communities. Criminal Justice Ministry covers the first year of rent, and clients then have the chance to “transition in place,” staying in their apartment while taking over the lease, executive director Sarah Topal said.

“We’re offering low-barrier access to immediate housing for individuals who are either coming out of prison or who have some level of justice involvement that’s serving as a barrier for them to be able to get their own lease, that may need some supportive services, coaching on how to live independently, and so on,” Topal said.

CJM and its property management arm, Neighborhood Property Management, currently own five buildings with 52 units and also partner with outside landlords, Topal said. The ministry serves about 130 clients and tenants across the properties.

People who have been incarcerated often face barriers to renting, Topal said, but CJM does not discriminate based on conviction. “What we know is that people who are placed in housing are 40% less likely to be arrested, and they’re 61% less likely to be reincarcerated,” she said. “…The people who have the highest barriers to accessing (housing) are the people that end up in our program.”

The Affordable Housing Grant will make a big difference as CJM expands the number of people it is able to serve, Topal said. There’s always a waitlist of people seeking housing.

“This really is a huge opportunity for us — we just need more doors, all the time, especially because our model allows our clients to become tenants, and then it’s theirs to hold,” she said. “So we’re always looking for more places where people can access safe housing.”

Assisi House will receive a grant of $161,500 to convert the former rectory at Our Lady of the Holy Cross in Baden into a group home for women.

Assisi House offers men’s and women’s housing in small, communal settings for individuals facing homelessness. Residents pay a low monthly rent for a private bedroom with shared common spaces, and they receive accompaniment and support form staff and volunteers to address their self-identified goals.

There are currently seven homes operated by Assisi House with a total capacity of 84 people. The new house at Our Lady of the Holy Cross — the organization’s eighth home — will add space for 10 women. (Our Lady of the Holy Cross Parish merged with three others in 2023 to become St. Peter Claver Parish.)

It will be the second Assisi House home on the Our Lady of the Holy Cross campus, after the first opened in 2017 in the former convent “about 25 steps away,” executive director Keith Deisner said.

“We just thought it was kind of a no-brainer, since the rectory was just sitting there,” Deisner said. “We already have a presence in the neighborhood…and there’s certainly a lot of women out there who are unhoused, and we can certainly reach some more. The (archdiocese) is one of our strongest longtime partners in these Assisi Houses.”

In Jefferson County, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Louis was awarded $232,367 to build Caritas House, an 11-unit transitional housing building that will be located on the campus of Sacred Heart Parish in Crystal City. The project also received a $585,000 Affordable Housing Fund grant in 2025.

Catholic Charities and the Southern Vicariate are in the final stages of fundraising for Caritas House. Site planning is underway, with a projected opening date in spring 2027, Catholic Charities chief community officer Brian Thouvenot said. This is the first Catholic Charities housing project in the Southern Vicariate.

“We’re grateful for the archbishop’s leadership in this area, and I know this is going to be a welcome thing for the Jefferson County community,” Thouvenot said.

2026 Affordable Housing Fund grant recipients:

• • Assisi House: $161,500 to convert the former Our Lady of the Holy Cross rectory in Baden into a group home for women.
• • Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Louis: $232,367 – in addition to $585,000 awarded in 2025 – to build the Caritas House, a 11-unit transitional housing building in Festus.
• • Criminal Justice Ministry: $500,000 to purchase apartment units to expand the Foundations First Housing program.
• • Peter &Paul Community Services: $150,000 to renovate a full floor of apartments located on its Community Campus in north St. Louis.
• • Room at the Inn: $100,000 for 24-month Transitional Housing Pilot Program in north St. Louis County.
• • St. Joseph Housing Initiative: $140,000 to renovate two single-family units for first-time home buyers in St. Louis.
• • The Care Service at Sts. Joachim &Ann: $450,000 to purchase three homes for clients to rent at low rates while receiving wraparound social services in the tri-county area of St. Charles, Lincoln and Warren counties.